Love Bites: an English cast of transvestites, pole dancers and wrestlers in seaside towns

Tim Richmond wanted to return to his roots in the west of England after taking on the American West in his last photography series Last Best Hiding Place, which was spread over seven years. The resulting Love Bites looks at a stretch of coast along the Bristol Channel and its near-deserted resort towns, spotlighting the small myriad of characters who gather in the area out of season. From transvestites to Latvian pole dancers, amateur wrestlers, fruit pickers and local waitresses, the cinematic series takes cues from realist filmmaking, and Tim cites Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas and Pawel Pawlikowski’s Last Resort as influences.

“A sense of realism is shared throughout all my projects,” says Tim. “I intentionally keep [them] vague in order to allow the viewer to create their own impression.” Love Bites began several years ago, and takes its name from an encounter the photographer had with a young couple waiting for the bus in the rain, both sporting love bites. “I’m still looking for that couple!”

With its faint air of melancholy, the series can in one way or another be distilled into an anecdote from another rainy January night. “I was in a lap dancing club on a wet January night photographing some of the girls, and the only punter in that night was just an old boy who wanted a quiet drink on his own, and the girls were all wrapped up in cardigans. It seemed such a poignant seaside English experience.”